FOC officers looking for offenders

Macomb County sheriff’s deputies and local Friend of the Court officers made several arrests on Monday for people who have outstanding bench warrants for failing to make child support payments.

Thomas Bloham, director of the FOC office on the sixth floor of the Macomb County Courthouse in Mount Clemens, said his office wants to work with men who fail to make payments ordered by the Macomb County Circuit Court. He said his staff would rather work with violators than throwing them in jail.

He said through November his office has received 3,797 warrants charging men with failing to make child support payments.

In 2011 FOC enforcement officers arrested more than 2,000 individuals. Through October of this year 1,996 individuals have been arrested.

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Bloham said that once a judge signs a warrant for the arrest of a person on child support arrearages it cannot be withdrawn until the individual appears before a judge and makes arrangements to pay the amount owed.

“Our main goal is not to get people arrested, but to get them to come into our office and work something out,” Bloham said. “It does no one any good to go out and arrested delinquent fathers.”

Bloham said his sweeps were announced last week by Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham and Macomb County Chief Circuit Judge David Viviano. He said deputies and FOC personnel will be arresting individuals through Thursday.

Bloham said his office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“The key is not to ignore letters a person gets from the court,” Bloham said. “Don’t ignore them.

“If you don’t come in, you will be arrested. That’s for sure and we don’t like going around arresting people, especially during the Christmas season.”